Lady&#39;s garment



April 17, 1951 A. LICHT I LADYS GARMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 27, 1947 INVENTOR Anna Lick/Z ATTORNEYS A. LICHT LADYS GARMENT April 17, 1 951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 27, 1947 INVENTQR Anna Lzaki ATTORNEYS Patented A 17, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LADYS GARMENT Anna Licht, New York, N. Y. Application August 27, 1947, Serial No. 770,880

It is among the objects of the invention to provide a garment of the bust fitting type, which may be fabricated with great economy of 'material and labor as a single garment that is characterized by much versatility of use and more particularly for use at the will of the. wearer for a shoulder drape effect, for an evening drape effect over the bust, for a front-tied scarf effect for suit wear, for a knot-tied-sleeve effect, for a hood effect over the head, and for a bare shoulder effect with back tie, and which garment in each of its modes of wear has the rich appearance of specialized utility for that purpose alone. I

Another object is to provide a garment having 11 Claims.

Fig. 9' is a rear view of the mode of wear shown in Fig. 8. r

the foregoin characteristics, which may have I I incorporated therewith bust braces that may be adjustable thereon for support from the shoulders or for strapless effect, and which may be readily removable therefrom for laundering and replacement therein, the presence of which braces imparts to the garment the additional function of a brassire, so that the garment in each and all of thevarious uses thereof may be worn without a brassiere, yet with the full support accomplished by a brassiere.

Another object is to provide a garment of the above type which may be readily fashioned by the ultimate consumer from a rectangular, ordinarily a square blank of fabric by a few slits and a few stitches readily made in the home, with all of the advantages of the multiplicity of modes of wear above noted and at a cost of but a fraction of that of corresponding completely pre-fabricated garments.

Another object is to associate with the rectangular piece of fabric ordinarily purchased by the user in the piece-goods division of a department store, simple and unambiguous directions for the slits and stitches by which the blank is converted into the garment.

Referring now to the drawings, the garment is desirably made from a unitary blank III which may have two edges I I, I2 at right angles to each other and each in the order of 36 inches long. At a distance in the order of nine inches from near the middle of the respective edges, II and I2 are the center points I3, M of the breast cups and these center points may be spaced from each other a distance in the order of eleven inches, symmetrically at opposite sides of the bisector I5 of the corner angle or vertex I6 of the blank. The fabric is slit at I! at right angles to and near the mid-section of each edge II, I2 for a distance in the order of six or seven inches to the rim of the breast cup, which for the preferred braced embodiment is outlined on the blank by an arcuate marking such as shown at I8 and y In the accompanying drawings in which are shown one or more of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

I wear of the garment in a shoulder drape effect;

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the mode of wear for an evening drape effect over the bust;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig.3 showing the mode of wear for a front tie scarf effect for suit Wear;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the mode of Wear for a knot-tied sleeve effect;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing. the mode of wear as a hoodv over the head;

- Fig. 8 is a front view showing the mode ofv wear .forbare shoulder effect with back tied;

I9, more fully described below. b I

From the inner ends of the slits H, the breast cup regions are generally radially slit as at 20 to the respective center points I3, I4,.and a similar radial slit 2| forming a V-notch ordinarily in the order of degrees, from slit 20 form the dart of the breast cup, so that when the edges 20, 2| are'fstitehed together, the desired convexity of breast cup is attained manner well vunderstood. From the outer end of the radial slit ZI of each of the breast cups, that is from those slits ofv the companion breast cups which are nearest each other, there extend obliqueslits 22 substantially parallelto' the bisector line I5 and of length preferably substantiallyequal .to that of the associated mid-section slit I'I, so that the end 22' of oblique slit 22 is spaced for a distance in the order of four inches from the corresponding edge II' of theblank.

. The slit edges are easily connected, first by stitching together at s the edges 28, ZI of the dart for the breast cup .(thereby bringing the separate arcuate markings I8 and I9 together to define'the locus of the brace), as shown in Fig. 2,

and then continuing by stitching together at .s the edge of the oblique slit 22 to the edge of the mid-section slit I'I. Finally, after removal of the generally pentagonal panel 23 above the upper edge of the generally rectangular panel 24' which latter is defined between the-line '25 and the associated edge II or l2 of the blank and be-' tween the slit I1 and a perpendicular line from edge II or I2 to end 22 of the oblique slit 22, the upper edge of panel 24 (defined by line 25) is stitchedin place at S along the portion of the associated edge I l or I2 of the blank at that region thereof immediately beyond the mid section slit I'I (between said slit I! and the associated outer corner 3! or 38 of the blank).

The stitching operation set forth is of course duplicated for each of the two breast cups and results in a brassiere-type garment suitable. for

outer wear, with a peplum 26 defined'byi the re.-

ion at corner 16. Preferably the fabric is infolded alon the bisector l5 of the corner It and the fold stitched together at l5 at the reverse side of the garment to form the center line, axis or back bone of the peplum, and also to serve to brace the fabric between the breast cups. The complete garment could thus be fashioned as a brassiere, halter or the like from substantially a triangular piece of fabric having two sides II, [2, the end flaps 21 and 28 of which serve for rear fastening by tieing them together or by suitable buttons 29 and button holes 30 or by similar fasteners.

Instead of the simple garment described, it is much preferred, however, to make the garment as shown, from a square piece of fabric, the portion above and to the right of the breast cups, as shown in Fig. 1, serving for forming the various optional draping effects for alternative modes of wear above indicated and more fully described below.

According to the invention the square blank of fabric is diagonally slit along line 3| from the corner 32 diagonally opposite corner 16, and therefore in alignment with bisector I5, said slit extending to well beyond the center of the blank and terminating as at 32' symmetrically between the breast cups and immediately beyond the infolded seam I5. In addition, the blank is slit along the lines 33 and 34, which desirably may be curved and struck illustratively from corner 32 as a center. These curves extend inward from the edges 35 and 36 that flank corner 32, but from near the ut r corn rs 37 and 38 of t e qu blank and preferably at a distance of siX, to eight inches from said outer corners. to leave the end flaps 2! and 28 above mentioned. The inner portions of the respective slits 33, 3 3 extend above but near the breast cups 18, I9 and terminate at 33, 34, respectively, symmetrically of the diagonal slit 3!, each at a distance from said slit desirably in the order of four inches. Thus wings 42, 43 are defined between slit 3! and slits 33 and 34, respectively, each with a root is immediately above the corresponding breast cup, said roots extending between said breast cups and each flaring to a wide outer edge in the order of 30 inches long along the edge of the blank. Of course, the various cut edges are suitably hemmed as at 39 t0 DI'QVide the finished garment and preferably suitable coacting buttons 4E and button holes 4! or equivalent hooks and eyes or the like are applied near the adjacent edges of wings, 42 and 43, as shown.

At the region indicated by the curved outline l8, 19 for the breast cup, there is attached a sheath 45 desirably of suitable braid or tape, closed as at it at one end and open at the other as at 41 in which is removably and adjustably accommodated the brace 48, desirably of the double wire type shown in my prior patent, Reissue No. 22,771, dated July 16, 1946, and shown partly withdrawn in Fig. 2.

While the garment as described may be cut in mass production, by laying the pattern upon a stack of fabric pieces and cutting the shaped pieces therefrom for subsequent individual stitching and finishing thereof, to form the fabricated garment in manner following conventional practice, an important application of the invention is the sale as an article of manufacture from a department store piece goods counter of a square blank of fabric substantially as shown in Fig. l, desirably cut as required from the bolt, and to be made in the home into the garment above described.

While a paper pattern of familiar character, imprinted with the lines of slitting and stitching, such as shown in Fig. 1, together with suitable directions, could be sold or given away with the piece goods, it is a feature of the present invention to imprint directly upon the fabric full guidance for the cutting or slitting and the stitching. To this end the various slit-line ll, 20, 2i, 22, 3|, 33 and 3d are shown in Fig. 1 directly imprinted, preferably in prominent lines of contrasting color upon the fabric, as are also preferably directly imprinted thereon the curved outlines [8, IQ of the breast cups to assist in positioning the brace sheaths 45. In addition there are desirably also imprinted upon the fabric, lines of points 49, indicating the infold to form the axis of the peplum. Moreover, there are imprinted upon the fabric, symbols 56 such as unitary dots which indicate the associated edges to be stitched together for forming the darts at the breast cup, corresponding symbols such as the twin dots 5|, indicating the mid-section slit edge and the associated oblique slit edge to be stitched together and further symbols such as the triple dots 52 indicating the stitching of the rectangular panel 2 2 to the edge ll of the blank. Moreover, there might be symbols at 29, 30, 40 and 4| to indicate where buttons and button holes or hooks and eyes are to be attached.

The fabric used would in general be print goods such as commonly imprinted on a roller press.

t will be understood that the dots, lines, points and other symbols upon the fabric, as illustratively shown in Fig. 1, would preferably be directly imprinted thereon as part of the decorative design that i engraved upon the printing roller used in making print goods. The imprint made by the roller as recurrently repeated for the entire length of the bolt would therefore result in a sequence of squares of fabric, each having imprinted thereon the lines of slits, stitching, symbols and the like, as shown in Fig. 1.

Accordingly the invention could be utilized by the sale to the ultimate user of a simple square piece of fabric which incorporates in itself, without resort to the ordinary paper pattern or direction sheet, complete guidance for fashioning the finished garment therefrom, an operation which the average girl could complete in from thirty to forty-five minutes.

While the direction lines and symbols could be imprinted in permanent color upon the fabric, and as noted, preferably in color contrasting with the imprint design, such direction lines and symbols could be of marking color easily removed from the fabric to permit use of the latter for purposes other than those of the present invention.

Of course, the garment could be worn without the braces, in which event it would ordinarily be necessary to wear a brassiere thereunder. However, since the braces are readily incorporated with the garment and their use dispenses with the need for a brassiere, it is much preferred to use such braces as part of the garment. The sheath 45 being of peripheral length much greater than the generally semi-circular brace 48, the

' latter may be adjusted to be lodged under the der drape effect. The bodice of the garment sup- 'portsthe bust and the peplum 26 of the garment is formed from the fabric near corner l6 of Fig. 1 and the wings 42 and 43 of Fig. 1 hang as shoulder drapes 42. It will be understood that the garment may be fastened about the waist as for instance by tieing together as at 53 the lateral flap portions 21, 28 that extend from the bodice, or if desired by buttons'29 or thelike'on one of said flaps 21 and corresponding button holes 30 or the like on the corresponding portion of the companion flap 28.

In Fig. 4 is shown the same garment in which the wings 42, 43 are draped 'forward oventhe bust forev ening wear, and held together as by a brooch 54.

In Fig. 5 is shown the same garment in which the wings 42, 43 are tied together in a large front tie 55 for a scarf effect suitable for'wear with suits.

In the mode of wear of the same garment as shownin Fig. '6, the wings 42 43 are-individually draped over the shoulders and their outer corners at 32 and-58 are knotted together as at '56 to afford a sleeve effect.

In Fig. '1 the wings 42, 43' of the same garment are drawn and knotted over the head at the pair of tips shown at corner 32 in Fig. 1 as at 51, and knotted under the chin as at59at the other pair of corners 58 in Fig. 1, thereby tieing .the garment with a hood6ll for hai protection.

In Figs. 8 and 9 is shown abare shoulder effect of V the same garment in. which the braces 48 would :of course be shifted along their long sheaths 45 to extendin-part-over the breasts for strapless-Support and the wings 42, 43 are draped. from over the breast cups under the arm pits and tied in back asat'6l in two knots, one

from the points at the corner 32" and the other from the wing extremities 58.

Thus the invention affords an extraordinary versatility of use, though it is'simple in'construction and economical of materials and labor and lends itself for fashioning in the home from a simple-preferably a square piece of fabric.

It will be apparent that "by the use of a blank, not of thirty-six inches square but in the order of sixty inches square-extending saytwenty-four inches below edge Hand twenty-four inches to the left of edge l2 in Fig. 1, and slitting the'same along edges II and I2 of Fig. l tothe mid-section slits I! and otherwise slitting and stitching the fabric in the manner-above described, thepeplum l6 becomes a complete skirt which may be stitched alon its length at the rear and constituting a unitary part of the garment. That garment could-be embodied in a slip, a nightgown, an'evening dress or a dress generally and could of course be fashioned with or without the draping wings 42 and 43.

"""As many changes could be, made .in the above construction, and many apparently widely different embodiments ofthis invention could be made without departing from the scope of-the claimsyit-is intended that all matter "contained I in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted" as 7 V illustrative and notin a limitingsense.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States-is:-

. 1. A ladys .garmentfofthe' bust fitting" type comprising a blank having two of its edges of equal length and at right, angles to each other,

. the material near the free ends of said edges deouter end of said oblique slit *said mid-portion slit.

I fining flaps for the rear portion of the garment,

the blank being slit inwardly at right angles from said edges to points symmetrical of the bisector of said right angle and being further obliquely slit outward from said points along lines generally parallel to said bisector to form V-notches with said first slits, all of said slits being substantially equal in length, the sidesof said V-notches being stitched together to form breast cups, said blank having two rectangular panels each being defined by one of said edges of the blank and a line parallel thereto from the first of said slits to the outer end of said oblique slit and between said first slit and a line perpendicular to said edge to the outer end of said oblique slit, each of said panels being stitched at its upper edge along that portion of the associated edge of the blank beyond said first named slit. 7

2. The combination recited in claim 1 in'which each of said breast cups has an arcuate sheath along the periphery thereof for accommodating a removable arcuate brace.

3. A ladys garment comprising a bodice portion having breast cups and a peplum, rear flap portions extending laterally from said bodice portion and having coacting fasteners and wing portions having each a narrow neck near the top of the corresponding breast cup, each of said wing portions diverging from said narrow'neck to an outer edge of length in the order of thirty inches, whereby in wear said wing portions may serve at will for a shoulder drape, for an evening drape over the bust, for a front tie scarf, for knot tied sleeves, for a hood over the head and for a back tie associated with bare shoulders.

4. A ladys garment comprising 'a substantially square blank, slit along the major part of the length of a diagonal from one corner thereof and slit transversely from the edges that flank said corner and from near the corners of the other diagonal to near said'diagonal slit, and further slit inwardly from near the mid-portions of the other two edges at substantially right angles thereto to points symmetrical of the bisector of the angle formed by the edges of the corner of said blank diagonally opposed to said first named corner and thence slit at an oblique V- tions to aiford the darts which form breast cups, said blank having two rectangular panels each defined by one of said last named edges and a line parallel thereto from said mid-portion slit to the and between said mid-portion slit to aline perpendicular to the associated edge extending to the outer end of said oblique slit, each of, said mid-portion slits below each breast cup being stitched to the corresponding oblique slit and each of the rectangular panels being stitched at its upper edge along that portion of the associated edge of the blank beyond 5. A ladys garment comprising a unitary square blankhaving bust center forming points spaced equally from opposite sides of one diagonal thereof, the blank being slit substantially atright angles inward to said points from near the midsections of the two edges of the blank respectively nearest to said points, and obliquely outward from said points along a line nearly parallelto tive mid-section slits, the respective associated slit edgesthat determine the V-notches being of, thereby to form convex breast cups, said blank having two rectangular panels each being defined by one of said edges and a line parallel thereto from said mid-section slit to the outer end of said oblique slit and between said mid-section slit'and a line perpendicular to said last named edge extending to the outer end of said oblique slit, each rectangular panel being stitched at its upper edge along that portion of the associated edge of the blank immediately beyond the stitched part from the breast cup, the blank being diagonally slit from that corner symmetrically of the breast cups which is remotest therefrom, to the region of said breast cups and being further slit from those edges thereof at opposite sides of said latter slit and from near the corners of the other diagonal along lines terminating near said diagonal slit, thereby forming a pair of divergingdraping wings with their roots adjacent the respective breast cups.

6. A ladys garment comprising a substantially rectangular blank having V-shaped notches therein respectively symmetrically disposed at opposite sides of one diagonal thereof, the blank being further slit from that side of each notch which is most remote from said diagonal, outward at right angles to the corresponding edge of the blank, the blank being further slit from those edges of the V-notches that are nearest each other along lines generally parallel to said diagonal and of length substantially equal to that of the companion slit, the edges of each V- notch being stitched together to form a breast cup and thence clear to the edge of the blank, said blank having two rectangular panels each being defined by one of said edges of the blank and a line parallel thereto from the outer end of the slit parallel to said diagonal to said right angle slit and from said right angle slit to a line perpendicular to one of said edges to the outer end of said slit parallel to said diagonal, each of said panels being stitched at its upper edge along that portion of the associated edge of the blank immediately beyond that slit that extends a t to the edge of the blank, the blank being diagonally slit from the corner thereof symmetrically of and most remote from to the vicinity of the breast cups and being further slit from near the inner end of the diagonal slit symmetrically along 7. The combination recited in claim 6 in which the blank is also stitched along a diagonal fold line extending from and aligned with the diagonal slit to form a brace between the breast cups and to define the axis of a peplum.

8. As an article of manufacture, a substantially square blank of textile fabric of the type used for scarves, blouses and thelike, said fabric having imprinted thereon a diagonal line extending from one corner thereof to somewhat past the center of the blank, said blank having further lines thereon symmetrically of said diagonal line, said further lines including a pair of curved lines extending from those edges of the blank which flank the outer end of said diagonal line and from near the ends of the other diagonal of the blank, inward to the neighborhood of said first named diagonal line, said blank having also a pair of generally V-shaped lines symmetrical of said first named diagonal line, said v-shaped lines each having a pair of legs comprising an oblique leg substantially parallel to said first named diagonal with its extremities inward from the edges of the blank and having its other leg substantially at right angles to and terminating at the associated edge of the blank.

9. The combination recited in claim 8 in which one set of companion markings on the blank indicates the edges of the respective V markings which are to be stitched together, another set of companion markings indicates the associated oblique line and right angle line to be stitched to gether, and a further set of companion markings indicates the stitching together of an edge portion of the blank and an edge parallel thereto from the extremity of the oblique leg.

10. The combination recited in claim 8 in which there is a pair of further generally segmental circular markings on the blank centered with respect to the respective vertices of the V-markings to'define the location of braces in the finished garment.

11. A ladys garment of the bust fitting type, comprising a square blank, the material near one corner of a diagonal thereof forming a peplum, that near the respective corners at the ends of the other diagonal defining the rear portion of the garment, the blank being slit inwardly at right angles from those edges that flank the peplum to points symmetrical of the first named diagonal and being further slit outward from said points along oblique lines generally parallel to said first named diagonal to form V-notches with said first slits, all of said slits being substantially equal in length, the sides of said V-notches being stitched together to form breast cups, said blank having two rectangular panels each defined by one of said peplum flanking edges and a line parallel thereto from said right angle slit to the outer end of said oblique slit and between said right angle slit to a line perpendicular to the associated peplum flanking edge extending to the outer end of said oblique slit, each of said panels being stitched at its upper edge along that portion of the associated peplum flanking edge of the garment which is beyond the stitched portion of the breast cup, each of said breast cups having an "arcuate sheath along the periphery thereof for accommodating a removable arcuate brace, said blank being slit diagonally from the corner thereof symmetrical of and most remote from said breast cups to the vicinity of the latter and being further slit from those sides thereof that flank the outer end of said diagonal slit and from near the corners of the other diagonal inward to the vicinity of said diagonal slit.

ANNA LICI-IT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

